# Poll: Can you drive a stick? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316 "2008-03-30T21:35:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/221 "2009-01-13T03:47:04Z")
(1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission? Yes. I prefer it. (2) What country do you live in? USA. (3) How old are you (roughly)? Mid-40s. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/222 "2009-01-13T03:56:52Z")
1. Yes I drove a stick shift for years, I prefer automatics. 2. USA 3. 47 Where I live, in rural America, I don’t know anyone that has a manual transmission. The last stick shift I was in was in the Cayman Islands, Feb 1998. I drove the stick shift, steering wheel on the right side and driving on the left hand side of the road. The shifting wasn’t bothersome, I had trouble with the blinkers. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/223 "2009-01-13T04:17:32Z")
1. Yes. Learned to drive in a standard. 2. USA 3. 47 I’ll admit I’d probably have trouble adjusting to a British stick, using the “wrong” hand. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/224 "2009-01-13T04:26:00Z")
1- Sure, I love 'em. All of my favorite cars I’ve owned over the years (3 VW Beetles, 1 MG Midget, 1 Austin Healy Sprite, 1 Ford Ranger P.U.) were all stick shift. 2- U.S. 3- 43 ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/225 "2009-01-13T04:57:53Z")
(The responses in this thread are likely skewed because it’s a self-selected population). (1) I’m so comfortable driving a stick that I feel very uncomfortable when I find myself having to drive a car with an automatic. (2) USA (3) Roughly, three million, but in your numbering system, mid-40s. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/226 "2009-01-13T05:17:54Z")
1. Yes, but I just learned. It’s much smoother on a motorcycle than in a car, for me. 2. American 3. 27 (Holy crap! That’s almost 30!) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/227 "2009-01-13T05:37:21Z")
> [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](#): > > (1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission? > (2) What country do you live in? > (3) How old are you (roughly)? (1) Somewhat (2) Californistan (3) 46 I prefer automatics. ---
**Author:** ![Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buckler_of_Swashing)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/228 "2009-01-13T12:43:11Z")
A) I have only ever driven a manual and all the cars that I and my immediate family have ever owned have been manuals. I hate the idea of driving an automatic, though I confess I have never had the opportunity to try. Changing gears myself is part of the rhythm of driving for me. B) Australia C) 24 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/229 "2009-01-13T12:53:29Z")
1. I prefer stick. 2. I’m from and learned to drive first in Spain; learned to drive automatic in the US. I assume what you want to know is where we learned to drive, really, not where we sleep at night 😛 3. 40 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/230 "2009-01-13T12:57:50Z")
Yes US, NC 48 I bought a car with a stick before I knew how to drive one, my brother had to drive it home from the dealer. It was a great incentive for me to learn to drive it quickly. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/231 "2009-01-13T13:25:43Z")
1. Yes, absolutely. I had an Austin Healy that I put about a bajillion miles on. I learned to drive on a '73 Chevy Vega (go ahead and laugh, I do) 2. United States, Ohio 3. 51 I made sure my kids, boy and girl, learned to drive stick too. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/232 "2009-01-13T14:22:01Z")
1. Never drive anything else if I can avoid it 2. English 3. 47 ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/233 "2009-01-13T15:04:04Z")
(1) I prefer and drive a stick. Learned to drive an automatic. While stationed in Okinawa, learned to drive a standard. (2) USA (3) 43 as of yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![mambocrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@mambocrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambocrow)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/234 "2009-01-13T15:12:18Z")
1. Yes. I prefer them. 2. U.S.A. 3. 59 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/235 "2009-01-13T16:37:04Z")
So why are people doing a poll from last March?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/236 "2009-01-13T16:41:48Z")
1. Most of the vehicles I have owned have had manual transmissions 2. USA 3. 44 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/237 "2009-01-13T16:56:17Z")
Where are all these American stick drivers coming from? In my everyday life in California, I hardly ever see anything but automatics. Nobody I know personally drives a stick. Ed ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/238 "2009-01-13T16:58:43Z")
Well we have a few dozen stick drivers in here out of 300 million Americans. Not too significant. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/239 "2009-01-13T17:03:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Can you drive a stick? Only if there’s an automobile attached to it… OK who resurrected the zombie thread? ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316/240 "2009-01-13T17:36:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Where are all these American stick drivers coming from? In my everyday life in California, I hardly ever see anything but automatics. Nobody I know personally drives a stick. It’s a self selecting poll. Why would anyone post here other than to feel smug about their ability to drive manual transmissions and to feel superior to those proles that can’t comprehend the magic of the 3 pedals? Of course, I’ll have you know that I operate both left-hand and right-hand drive manual transmissions with ease, AND I double clutch on every downshift. How about those lazy sods with can’t drive without use _syncros_, wot wot? 25, Canada. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-can-you-drive-a-stick/443316.md?page=13)